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Hale Irwin
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EXEMPT STATUS: Top 31 on 2002 Champions Tour Money
List
FULL NAME: Hale Irwin
HEIGHT: 6-0
WEIGHT: 180
BIRTHDATE: June 3, 1945
BIRTHPLACE: Joplin, MO
RESIDENCE: Paradise Valley, AZ
FAMILY: Wife, Sally; Becky (12/15/71), Steven (8/6/74);
one grandchild
EDUCATION: University of Colorado (1967, Marketing)
SPECIAL INTERESTS: Fishing, hunting, photography,
golf course design
TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1968
JOINED TOUR: 1995
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| PGA TOUR Victories |
| (20) 1971 Sea Pines Heritage Classic. 1973
Sea Pines Heritage Classic. 1974 U.S. Open Championship.
1975 Atlanta Classic, Western Open. 1976
Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open, Florida Citrus Open.
1977 Atlanta Classic, Colgate Hall of Fame Golf
Classic, San Antonio Texas Open. 1979 U.S.
Open Championship. 1981 Hawaiian Open, Buick
Open. 1982 Honda Inverrary Classic. 1983
Memorial Tournament. 1984 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am.
1985 Memorial Tournament. 1990 U.S. Open Championship,
Buick Classic. 1994 MCI Heritage Golf Classic. |
| Champions Tour Victories |
| (36) 1995 Ameritech Senior Open, Vantage
Championship. 1996 American Express Invitational,
PGA Seniors' Championship. 1997 MasterCard Championship,
LG Championship, PGA Seniors' Championship, Las
Vegas Senior Classic, Burnet Senior Classic, BankBoston
Classic, Boone Valley Classic, Vantage Championship,
Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic. 1998 Toshiba
Senior Classic, PGA Seniors' Championship, Las Vegas
Senior Classic, Ameritech Senior Open, U.S. Senior
Open, BankBoston Classic, Energizer SENIOR TOUR
Championship. 1999 Nationwide Championship,
Boone Valley Classic, FORD SENIOR PLAYERS Championship,
Ameritech Senior Open, Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic.
2000 Nationwide Championship, BellSouth Senior Classic
at Opryland, U.S. Senior Open, EMC Kaanapali Classic.
2001 Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley, Bruno's Memorial
Classic, Turtle Bay Championship. 2002 ACE
Group Classic, Toshiba Senior Classic, 3M Championship,
Turtle Bay Championship. |
| International Victories |
| 1996 Lexus Challenge (with Sean Connery). 1997 Senior Slam
at Los Cabos. 1998 Senior Match Play Challenge. 1999 Senior
Skins Game, Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge (with Jack Nicklaus
and Tom Watson). 2000 Our Lucaya Senior Slam. 2001 Senior Skins
Game. 2002 Senior Skins Game. |
| Other Victories |
| 1974 Piccadilly World Match Play. 1975 Piccadilly World Match
Play. 1978 Australian PGA. 1979 South African PGA. 1979 World
Cup (indiv.). 1981 Bridgestone Classic. 1982 Brazilian Open.
1986 Bahamas Classic. 1987 Fila Classic. |
| Current Year Charles Schwab Cup
Points and Positions |
| 601 (3) |
| Current Year Champions Tour Money
and Positions |
| $584,155 (3) |
| Current Year Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| Verizon Classic, T2--MasterCard Classic, T3--Toshiba
Senior Classic, Bruno's Memorial Classic, T7--ACE
Group Classic |
| Current Year Champions Tour Best Round |
| 65 at Round 1, Bruno's Memorial Classic |
| Current Year Champions Tour Highlights |
| Runner-up to Lee Trevino at the ConAgra Foods Champions Skins
Game. Saw his bid for a third straight win in the event stymied
when Trevino birdied the third extra hole to win the final skin
and $100,000..Finished second to Bruce Fleisher at the Verizon
Classic, the second consecutive year he's been the runner-up
in Tampa. Lost out to Fleisher by one stroke after he three-putted
from 20 feet on the 17th hole on Sunday while Fleisher made
birdie on the same hole...One of four players to fall one stroke
shy of David Eger to finish T2 at the MasterCard Classic in
Mexico City...Was a T3 in defense of his Toshiba Senior Classic
title. |
| Best PGA TOUR Finishes |
| 1--1971 Sea Pines Heritage Classic. 1973
Sea Pines Heritage Classic. 1974 U.S. Open Championship.
1975 Atlanta Classic, Western Open. 1976
Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open, Florida Citrus Open.
1977 Atlanta Classic, Colgate Hall of Fame Golf
Classic, San Antonio Texas Open. 1979 U.S.
Open Championship. 1981 Hawaiian Open, Buick
Open. 1982 Honda Inverrary Classic. 1983
Memorial Tournament. 1984 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am.
1985 Memorial Tournament. 1990 U.S. Open Championship,
Buick Classic. 1994 MCI Heritage Golf Classic. |
| Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| 1--1995 Ameritech Senior Open, Vantage Championship.
1996 American Express Invitational, PGA Seniors'
Championship. 1997 MasterCard Championship,
LG Championship, PGA Seniors' Championship, Las
Vegas Senior Classic, Burnet Senior Classic, BankBoston
Classic, Boone Valley Classic, Vantage Championship,
Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic. 1998 Toshiba
Senior Classic, PGA Seniors' Championship, Las Vegas
Senior Classic, Ameritech Senior Open, U.S. Senior
Open, BankBoston Classic, Energizer SENIOR TOUR
Championship. 1999 Nationwide Championship,
Boone Valley Classic, FORD SENIOR PLAYERS Championship,
Ameritech Senior Open, Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic.
2000 Nationwide Championship, BellSouth Senior Classic
at Opryland, U.S. Senior Open, EMC Kaanapali Classic.
2001 Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley, Bruno's Memorial
Classic, Turtle Bay Championship. 2002 ACE
Group Classic, Toshiba Senior Classic, 3M Championship,
Turtle Bay Championship. |
| Best 2002 Champions Tour Finishes |
| ACE Group Classic, Toshiba Senior Classic, 3M Championship, 2--Verizon
Classic, RJR Championship, T2--Audi Senior Classic, Senior
PGA Championship, 3--Kroger Senior Classic, T3--TD
Waterhouse Championship, Uniting Fore Care Classic Presented
by Novell, Allianz Championship, 4--Bruno's Memorial
Classic, SENIOR TOUR Championship at Gaillardia, T5--Siebel
Classic in Silicon Valley, The Instinet Classic, 6--The
Countrywide Tradition, T6--Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, FORD
SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, T7--AT&T Canada Senior
Open Championship |
| 2002 Season PGA TOUR |
| Tournaments Entered--1; in money--; Top 10 finishes--0 |
| 2002 Season Champions Tour |
| Tournaments Entered--27; in money--27; Top 10 finishes--22 |
| 2002 Season Highlights |
| Had a record-setting season and was voted as the Champions
Tour's Player of the Year, the third time has earned that honor...Set
a new Champions Tour record for earnings in a season with $3,028,304,
breaking his own mark of $2,861,945 and in the process became
the oldest player to win the money title (Arnold Palmer Award)
at age 57. The previous mark was by Peter Thomson, who won the
1985 money title at age 56...Clinched the Charles Schwab Cup
and the money title with his fourth victory of the year at the
Turtle Bay Championship in Hawaii, the 36th win of his Champions
Tour career. Birdied the first extra playoff hole to defeat
Gary McCord for his third consecutive fall victory in Hawaii
and fourth overall in autumn in the Aloha State. The victory
allowed him to tie Jack Nicklaus (four wins at The Countrywide
Tradition) for most wins at one event and also was his first
playoff victory on the Champions Tour in six tries...Started
the year by winning his third straight Senior Skins (1999, 2001,
2002; did not play in 2000) title on the island of Maui. Prevailed
over Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Fuzzy Zoeller at Wailea
Golf Club. Won five skins and $260,000 on the final hole to
help him earn a record $450,000, breaking Ray Floyd's mark of
$420,000 in 1995....Extended a Champions Tour record early on
with his 33rd career title at The ACE Group Classic in Naples.
Dueled Tom Watson down the stretch before defeating him by a
stroke at The Club at TwinEagles...Suprassed $20 million in
career earnings with victory...Set a Champions Tour record when
he posted his 75th career top-3 finish, a T2 at the Audi Senior
Classic in Mexico, breaking Bob Charles' mark of 74...Won the
Toshiba Senior Classic by five strokes with a record-setting
196 total, his second win in Newport Beach...Added his 35th
career title in August when he won his third 3M Championship
in Minnesota. Was tied with James Mason after 36 holes, but
broke away from the pack for a three-stroke victory. Win at
the TPC of the Twin Cities also marked the sixth consecutive
season he had won at least three times...Came from five strokes
back to tie Bob Gilder at the SBC Senior Open, but eventually
lost in a playoff when his second shot in the overtime session
bounced off a cartpath into heavy rough...Opened with a 7-under-par
64 and made a spirited run for the Lightpath Long Island Classic
title. Eventually fell in a seven-hole playoff to Hubert Green
at the Meadow Brook Club...Put together a string of 16 consecutive
sub-par rounds in the middle of the campaign, the best run of
sub-par scores this season...Became the first over the $3-million
mark in season earnings with his fourth-place finish at the
SENIOR TOUR Championship in Gaillardia...Competed in 27 events
and finished at par-or-better in all of them and was a cumulative
214-under par for the season...In addition to becoming the first
Champions Tour player to reach $3 million in a single season,
he also became the oldest player to claim the Byron Nelson Award
as the Scoring leader (68.93) and the Putting title...Converted
more par-3 birdies than any other player (19.4%) and also led
all players in birdie conversions at 32.4%...Led all players
with 22 top-10 finishes and had more rounds in the 60s than
any player (50)...Also had the lowest final round scoring average
(68.31)...Had at least one round in the 60s in all 27 tournaments
he played and has done so in 64 of his last 65 tournaments.
The lone blemish came at the 2001 Lightpath Long Island Classic...Selected
as the Champions Tour's Player of the Month for February and
August...Played in his 32nd consecutive U.S. Open at Bethpage,
but missed the cut...Averaged $112,159 per start for the year. |
| Career Highlights |
| 2001: Won multiple official titles on the Champions Tour for
a seventh straight year and also pocketed seven-figures in official
earnings for a sixth consecutive season...Eclipsed the $2-million
mark for an unprecedented fifth straight campaign at The Transamerica...Won
three official events, the fifth straight year he's won at least
three times in a year, tying him with Miller Barber and Lee
Trevino for the most in Champions Tour history...Broke out of
a tie with Lee Trevino atop the all-time victory list by claiming
the inaugural Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley, his 30th career
win in his 135th start on the Champions Tour...Posted three
consecutive rounds of 65 and shattered the Bruno's Memorial
Classic tournament record by six strokes with a 21-under 195
total. Easily outdistanced Stewart Ginn by four strokes for
his 31st senior career victory...Notched his 32nd title late
in the campaign at the Turtle Bay Championship in Hawaii...Played
in the U.S. Open at Southern Hills and T52 after being one stroke
off the lead after an opening-round 67. 2000: Claimed four official
victories, the fourth straight year he won four or more titles
in a season...Tied Lee Trevino atop the all-time victory list
when he won his second EMC Kaanapali Classic, besting Joe Inman
by four strokes. Victory in Hawaii gave him multiple victories
in 10 different tournaments (since increased to 12)...Successfully
defended his Nationwide Championship crown, at the time the
sixth successful defense of his senior career. Made just one
bogey over 54 holes and edged Tom Jenkins and Vicente Fernandez
by one stroke...Picked up his second title three weeks later
when he held off Gil Morgan by a stroke for the BellSouth Senior
Classic at Opryland crown...Biggest victory of his season came
in early July when he triumphed at the U.S. Senior Open for
a second time. Carded rounds of 65-65 on the weekend at Saucon
Valley and overtook Bruce Fleisher on the final day to win by
three strokes. His 17-under 267 total was the lowest four-round
score in any U.S. Open Championship and gave him a sixth senior
major title, two back of Jack Nicklaus...Finished T27 at the
U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and joined Tiger Woods as the only
other player in the field to post at least two rounds in the
60s on the Monterey Peninsula...Underwent LASIK surgery the
week prior to the GTE Classic and went on to T3 in Tampa. 1999:
Became the first player in the history of the Champions Tour
to win five or more official tournaments three years in a row...Won
all five of his events from early May until late August...During
that four-month stretch, he was par/better in 34 of 37 rounds
and had a scoring average of 68.51...Started the run with a
dramatic victory at the Nationwide Championship. Holed a 74-yard
wedge shot for an eagle on the final hole to break a tie with
Bob Murphy...Closed with a 66 to defeat Al Geiberger by two
strokes at the Boone Valley Classic...Biggest win of the year
came at the FORD SENIOR PLAYERS Championship when he captured
his fifth senior major despite a sore right rotator cuff. Used
a final-round 65 to blow away the field by seven shots, the
largest margin of victory ever at the TPC of Michigan. His 72-hole
score of 21-under 267 also equaled Gil Morgan's tournament record
set in Dearborn in 1998...Rallied from an opening-round 73 to
successfully defend his Ameritech Senior Open title by one stroke
over Gary McCord, Bruce Fleisher and Raymond Floyd...Captured
the Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic the next week in wire-to-wire
fashion, defeating Jim Dent and Dale Douglass by two shots.
Win in Minnesota moved him into solo second place on the all-time
Champions Tour wins list...Set a Champions Tour record for consecutive
sub-70 rounds with 13 in a row (second round/Ameritech Senior
Open thru second round/AT&T Canada Senior Open Championship)...Lost
twice in playoffs. Fell to Tom McGinnis at BankBoston Classic
and to Jim Ahern the following week at AT&T Canada Senior
Open...1998: Voted the circuit's Player of the Year for the
second straight season after seven victories, including two
major championships...In 22 starts, amazingly finished in the
top five in all but two tournaments...Posted a record 18 consecutive
top-five finishes before string ended at the Boone Valley Classic
(T13)...Won his second consecutive Arnold Palmer Award as the
circuit's leading money-winner and averaged $130,088 per start...Also
garnered his third straight Byron Nelson Award for the lowest
scoring average (68.59), breaking Lee Trevino's all-time mark
of 68.89 set in 1990...Each of his seven victories was significant...Fired
a course-record 62 in the final round of the Toshiba Senior
Classic to come from five strokes back and overtake Hubert Green
for the title...Won his third consecutive PGA Seniors' Championship,
matching Eddie Williams' mark for consecutive wins in the event
(1942, 1945, 1946)...Successfully defended his title the next
week at the Las Vegas Senior Classic...Fourth title of the campaign
came in wire-to-wire fashion at the Ameritech Senior Open, his
second senior victory in Chicago...Despite an opening-round
77, made birdie on the 72nd hole to nip Vicente Fernandez at
the U.S. Senior Open at Riviera CC. Became just the 10th player
to claim a PGA TOUR and Champions Tour event at the same venue.
First-round score was also the highest ever by a winner in Champions
Tour annals...Sixth victory at the BankBoston Classic was another
successful title defense...Closed out the year with a five-stroke
victory at the Energizer SENIOR TOUR Championship in Myrtle
Beach...Broke his own mark for fastest player to reach $1 million
in a season when he went over seven figures in just his eighth
official event ($101,200 for solo second place at the Bruno's
Memorial Classic)...Of his 71 rounds, 62 were par/better and
he had a run of 10 straight scores in the 60s...Led all players
in top-10 finishes (20). 1997: Had nine victories to tie Peter
Thomson's 1985 record for most wins in one season...Became the
first player to hit the $2-million mark in one season when he
won his eighth title at the Vantage Championship and pocketed
$225,000...Nine wins came in just 23 starts (18 top-10 finishes)
and he averaged $101,885 per start...Got his year off to a great
beginning with a two-stroke victory over Gil Morgan at the MasterCard
Championship in Hawaii...Outdueled Bob Murphy a month later
to win the LG Championship in Naples...Set a standard by successfully
defending his PGA Seniors' Championship, winning by a Champions
Tour-record 12 strokes...Edged Isao Aoki with a birdie putt
at the final hole of the Las Vegas Senior Classic...Took control
of the Burnet Senior Classic near Minneapolis with a birdie
at the 17th hole and slipped past Lee Trevino...Made birdies
on the final two holes for a two-stroke win at the BankBoston
Classic...Claimed the Boone Valley Classic near his home in
St. Louis, playing all 54 holes without a bogey...Played another
bogey-free event at the Vantage Championship and used a 62 at
Tanglewood in the second round to edge Dave Eichelberger...Tied
Thomson's record with a victory at the Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali
Classic, defeating Mike Hill and Bruce Summerhays by three strokes...Claimed
his first four titles in just seven starts, the fastest ever
to that number...Of the 74 rounds he played, 57 were below par
(77%) and only 13 were over par...More than half (41 of 74/55%)
of his rounds were in the 60s...Won the Arnold Palmer Award
as the leading money-winner and notched his second consecutive
Byron Nelson Award as the Champions Tour scoring leader (68.92).
1996: Just missed winning money title by $12,121 when he was
passed by Jim Colbert on the final day at the Energizer SENIOR
TOUR Championship, thanks to a birdie on the 72nd hole...Averaged
$70,250 per start for the year with wins at PGA Seniors' Championship
and American Express Invitational...Led the Champions Tour with
21 top-10 finishes and was under par in 21 of 23 events...Won
his first Byron Nelson Award as the Champions Tour scoring leader
(69.47)...His victory at the American Express Invitational pushed
him past $1 million in Champions Tour earnings in his 16th event,
the fastest to do so at the time. 1995: Champions Tour Rookie
of the Year after pair of victories and 10th-place finish on
the money list in just 12 appearances...Made debut at BellSouth
Senior Classic at Opryland (T4)...Claimed first win at the Ameritech
Senior Open in his fifth start...Victory was third of his career
in Chicago area (also won '90 U.S. Open/'75 Western Open). Defeated
Kermit Zarley by a whopping seven shots, equaling the largest
winning margin on the Champions Tour in 1995...His 21-under-par
195 total smashed the tournament record by five and was just
one shy of the all-time 54-hole scoring record in relation to
par...Did not make a bogey all week at the Vantage Championship
and defeated Dave Stockton by four strokes. |
| Personal |
| Unusual two-sport participant at the University of Colorado:
1967 NCAA Champion in golf and two-time All-Big Eight selection
as a football defensive back...Was also an Academic All-American...Member
of Colorado's "All-Century Football Team" and inducted into
the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002...Son,
Steve, also played on the Colorado golf team, while nephew Heath
is now a guard for the NFL's St. Louis Rams following his collegiate
career at Colorado...Got his start in golf at age 4 through
his father...Actively involved in his own course design business,
including the TPC at Wakefield Plantation, future site of the
Champions Tour's SAS Championship and current site of the Nationwide
Tour's SAS Carolina Classic...Inducted into the World Golf Hall
of Fame in 1992...Biggest thrills in golf were his first TOUR
win in 1971 at Hilton Head Island, SC, his three U.S. Open victories,
his two U.S. Senior Open wins and playing on the victorious
U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1991...Conducts a charity golf tournament
in St. Louis each year to benefit the St. Louis Children's Hospital
and Hale Irwin Center for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology...Says
if he could meet one famous person dead or alive his choice
would be Abe Lincoln because he came along at a very tumultuous
time in our history and had a positive influence...His favorite
golf course in the United States is Cypress Point, while overseas
he gives the nod Royal Melbourne in Australia...Leans toward
the 2-iron he hit at the last hole to win the 1974 United States
Open at Winged Foot as his all-time favorite shot...Broke 70
for the first time at age 14...Favorite all-time athlete is
Byron "Whizzer" White, a fellow CU football standout and the
former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. |
| PGA TOUR Playoff Record |
| 4-5 |
| Champions Tour Playoff Record |
| 1-5 |
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